Wonga debt assigned to Portfolio Recovery - written off?

[RosePetalBeauty]

I have not yet received a response from my formal complaint despite contacting Wonga several times. Their complaints policy states that you will be regularly updated if the complaint is not resolved in 5 days. I won't be holding my breath for a reply before the 8 weeks is up.

 

Today I have emailed the financial ombudsman who help with payday loans as despite not having reached 8 weeks, they can contact Wonga to find out what is going on.

[ba85]

I have not yet received a response from my formal complaint despite contacting Wonga several times. Their complaints policy states that you will be regularly updated if the complaint is not resolved in 5 days. I won't be holding my breath for a reply before the 8 weeks is up.

I emailed Wonga for an update as I made my formal complaint 6 weeks ago.

I got a response saying "Unfortunately we are unable to resolve your complaint within 8 weeks of receiving it, as our investigation is taking longer than expected. We anticipate being able to provide you with a response within the next 6 weeks."

I believe Wonga are just stalling to see if the FCA requires them to include previous customers whose debts they sold on in their forbearance programme.

[RosePetalBeauty]

I emailed Wonga for an update as I made my formal complaint 6 weeks ago.

I got a response saying "Unfortunately we are unable to resolve your complaint within 8 weeks of receiving it, as our investigation is taking longer than expected. We anticipate being able to provide you with a response within the next 6 weeks."

I believe Wonga are just stalling to see if the FCA requires them to include previous customers whose debts they sold on in their forbearance programme.

 

That sounds about right! At least they've given you an update, I've had nothing. I am prepared to escalate my complaint once the 8 weeks is up.

 

Have Portfolio said anything more to you?

 

We can only keep our fingers crossed that we get the resolution we deserve.

[ba85]

Have Portfolio said anything more to you?

 

No, the last they said was the account was on hold indefinitely until they hear from Wonga.

I've replied to Wonga saying I will be going to the FOS after the 8 weeks is up. They've had long enough.

[RosePetalBeauty]

No, the last they said was the account was on hold indefinitely until they hear from Wonga.

I've replied to Wonga saying I will be going to the FOS after the 8 weeks is up. They've had long enough.

 

You do right and I'll be joining you. I've not escalated a complaint to the FOS before so it'll definitely be an experience.

 

Do keep us updated as you're approx 2 weeks a head of me.

 

Any help and support is greatly appreciated!

[Stacks89]

I sent my original complaint to wonga on 27 Oct 14 and have still not had a response. I have now emailed again. Once the 8 weeks is up i will also be complaining to the FOS. PRA have put my account on indefinite hold until Wonga have replied. Thanks for all the updates everyone

[RosePetalBeauty]

I received a response from the financial ombudsman representative today which included this..

 

'I just want to let you know that it is Wonga’s decision as to what loans they write off and they made a decision that they would not write off any loans that had already been sold to debt collection companies, the ombudsman service cannot overturn this decision.'

 

However they are going to contact Wonga on my behalf. I am still yet to find anything from Wonga that confirms this, they seem to have just ignored being specific about this. Please point me in the right direction if I'm wrong.

[ba85]

I received a response from the financial ombudsman representative today which included this..

 

'I just want to let you know that it is Wonga’s decision as to what loans they write off and they made a decision that they would not write off any loans that had already been sold to debt collection companies, the ombudsman service cannot overturn this decision.'

 

However they are going to contact Wonga on my behalf. I am still yet to find anything from Wonga that confirms this, they seem to have just ignored being specific about this. Please point me in the right direction if I'm wrong.

I still think Wonga are being deliberately evasive on the issue of loans they have sold on until the FCA requires them to do something about it.

On another forum (not sure I should post a link here) an official FOS representative has posted that if you feel a loan was miss-sold or wasn't suitable for you, then making a complaint is the right thing to do. They go on to say that even if the debt was sold on, the original company would still be liable for complaints about miss-selling.

I am in the process of sorting out all my debts and looking at the time I applied to Wonga, I was in arrears with my mortgage by several months and had a dozen defaults on my credit file. Clearly I made many financial mistakes myself, which will take me many years to sort out, but I also think Wonga were completely irresponsible in lending me money and did not carry out appropriate affordability checks.

[the tinkerman]

So according to the Ombudsman Wonga can do whatever they like regardless of what the FCA say (Sounds Familiar)

 

Absolute fob off, I would certainly be asking the Ombudsman when they contact Wonga the one question that would determine if your loan should be wrote off or not and that is, would your loan have been approved under the new affordability guideline as you have already stated previously it was in excess of 30 days in arrears, simple yes or no would suffice and if the answer is yes, not allot you can do about it I'm afraid apart from checking your credit rating then disputing their findings base on what you find out, but if the answer is no then I would be asking the question why your loan has not been written off regardless of the fact it is with a DCA or the man on the moon for that matter and point out to the Ombusman Wonga cannot just cherry pick which of it's customers benefit from this ruling by the FCA.

 

EG Loan (A) with Wonga for £800 In excess of 30 days in arrears and would have not been approved under the new affordability guideline therefore WRITTEN OFF!

 

Yet loan (B) with Wonga for £800 In excess of 30 days in arrears and would have not been approved under the new affordability guideline but with a DCA therefore NOT WRITTEN OFF!

 

Point out to the Ombusman the crux of the matter is the ruling from the FCA and NOT Wonga's decision as to what loans they write off, why should A, benefit yet B, dose not if they were both effected by the same ruling that is DISCRIMINATION.

 

Like I said if the answer is no your loan should have not been made under the new ruling then I would be asking Mr Ombudsman WHY they cannot overturn Wonga's decision as to what loans they write off yet they CAN overturn the ruling made by FCA because in theory that is what they are doing, Excuse me Mr Ombudsman who is the regulator here FCA or Wonga!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ask them for an explanation and put it writing.

 

Tinks

[ba85]

However they are going to contact Wonga on my behalf. I am still yet to find anything from Wonga that confirms this, they seem to have just ignored being specific about this. Please point me in the right direction if I'm wrong.

Hi RosePetalBeauty

I'm not sure if I missed this as well, but this is the only thing I can find https://www.wonga.com/help/changes-lending-criteria-forbearance-programme

It says: Am I still entitled to debt forgiveness if my debt has been passed to another company?

Please direct any queries to Wonga until you receive further notice from us, and not the company who took over ownership of your debt.

 

 

Another evasive statement from Wonga! It was the only reference I could find to debts passed to another company.

I have now completed the FOS complaint form and submitted it as they have had their 8 weeks. What really annoys me is that I have emailed them this week to remind them the 8 weeks have expired and ask if they are going to issue a final response. In the same email I asked them to send a statement of account listing every loan I had from them and all the interest, fees and charges.

Today they emailed me a statement for my last loan, mentioned nothing about previous loans and nothing about my complaint!

[the tinkerman]

Hi

 

Send for a SAR will cost u £10, then they will have to give you everything they have on u from start to finish.

[Croft79]

Has anybody heared any more on debt that were sold to 3rd party

 

I am in the same boat I had a loan with Wonga that was sold to PRA.

 

My Loan was £1082 and my wages for that month was £1200.

 

I take responsibilty for taking a stupid loan as at the time I was in the payday loan cycle and was borrowing more and more each month but clearly affordabilty checks were not properly taken.

 

Surely you can't say Group A who shouldn't of been given loans have theirs written off but Group B who souldn't have been given loans but were sold on tough.

 

The funny thing is the loan was £1082 and they sold it to PRA for £2285 with me now being chased by PRA for 2410. So Wonga made a mint either way.

 

No wonder they don't want to include the debts that were sold

[sillygirl1]

If they included debts that were sold off they would be hammered by the regulators for lax lending again - which would not be a bad thing - they gave the money out knowing the odds - it was built into their business model AND expanded on - hence the ultra high interest rate.

[Croft79]

Their criteria for writing off debt was if you wouldn 't have had the loan accepted under their new lending criteria. Surely it shouldn't matter if it was sold or not.

[the tinkerman]

Exactly my sentiments Croft79

 

That is what I have been trying to get through to people all along on this thread, shouldn't matter if your loan is now with the man on the moon as it is down to the criteria within the ruling to determine if your loan should or should not be written off, Wonga are just cherry picking and once again it looks as though the FCA is letting them get away with it, Wonga are basically taking the Pxxx!

[ba85]

Exactly my sentiments Croft79

 

That is what I have been trying to get through to people all along on this thread, shouldn't matter if your loan is now with the man on the moon as it is down to the criteria within the ruling to determine if your loan should or should not be written off, Wonga are just cherry picking and once again it looks as though the FCA is letting them get away with it, Wonga are basically taking the Pxxx!

I think everyone in this thread agrees with you. My complaint is now with the FOS although I don't have much faith in them either. Wonga told me they needed another 6 weeks to review the affordability of my loan beyond the 8 weeks they are allowed. I refused and sent it to the FOS although they will continue to stall this as long as they can.

[the tinkerman]

Hi ba85

 

You need to be firm with the FOS don't let them fob you off to, if you fall under the criteria for the ruling and they don't write off your debt or give redress, ask them can they put into writing why not because it is the ruling and the ruling ONLY here that is the crux of the matter, you either fall under the ruling or you don't nothing else should matter.

[ba85]

Hi ba85

 

You need to be firm with the FOS don't let them fob you off to, if you fall under the criteria for the ruling and they don't write off your debt or give redress, ask them can they put into writing why not because it is the ruling and the ruling ONLY here that is the crux of the matter, you either fall under the ruling or you don't nothing else should matter.

I won't let them fob me off and I'm going to pursue this however long it takes. The problem is the FCA let Wonga come to a voluntary agreement, they didn't rule that ALL customers would have their loans written off. I have this directly from the FCA "the current voluntary requirement (VREQ) agreement which requires Wonga to make significant changes to its business immediately only affects current customers as reflected in the press release; however, the FCA is still working with Wonga to identify whether any other consumers will need redress."

[Croft79]

I won't let them fob me off and I'm going to pursue this however long it takes. The problem is the FCA let Wonga come to a voluntary agreement, they didn't rule that ALL customers would have their loans written off. I have this directly from the FCA "the current voluntary requirement (VREQ) agreement which requires Wonga to make significant changes to its business immediately only affects current customers as reflected in the press release; however, the FCA is still working with Wonga to identify whether any other consumers will need redress."

Something needs to be done! The issues identified with their lending isn't a new thing and has obviously been going on for some time. When I spoke to Wonga all the guy kept saying was it was sold before the write off but so what if it was the big question is would I have been given the loan under the new criteria a simple Yes or No. I have no doubt i wouldn't.

Ive asked Wonga to supply a breakdown of all my loans as they were lending me more and more each month with total disregard for affordability I hold my hands up for my part in borrowing beyond my means but I was stuck in the payday cycle .The last loan was 1082 with 1389 to pay back and only picking up 1200 wages where is the affordability check when they are aware of my income. I'm hoping a case of this nature goes all the way to court then we will see were it stands. Either that or claims management companies start taking these on.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Croft79

[the tinkerman]

Again Exactly my point

 

How can the FCA let Wonga dictate who benefits from this new ruling it is completely arse about face, it should be FCA who dictate's who should benefit and NOT Wonga, IMOO Wonga have just looked at their books and thought now what can we do to appease the FCA but at the same time not let it damage our profits to much.

 

OH we'll CHERRY PICK which of our customers who as at 2 Oct 2014 are more than 30 days in arrears who should not have had a loan in the first place under the new ruling, we will therefore in turn write the whole debt/loan off, but Sod the customers who have also been affected by the same ruling and who's debts are now either with a DCA or whom have been on a payment plan in the past but paid it off in full before the 2 Oct 2014 or for that matter anyone who has had a loan with Wonga and has paid it off or is still paying it off, they to should be entitled to at least interest redress if they to were affected by the new ruling as well.

 

No other word for it, it is discrimination and will be disgraceful if the FCA let them get away with this, it seems to me the FCA are no different than the FSA was just a name change and TOOTHLESS!

 

Can you imaging the banks saying right okay anyone who's bank account is in arrears as at today we will write off, there would be a public outcry! you can't have one ruling for one and not for the other if they all fall under the same umbrella which they should do.

 

Again IMOO if you are on Wonga's books you signed up to their T & Cs therefore any ruling changes ALL customer accounts should be affected by that ruling simple as.

[mbanani]

Assigned is the same as being sold.

 

No it is not the same.

Assignment is giving responsibilty to some one else, and sold means one buyer paid money and a seller sold the goods or anything in return for money changing hands.

[ba85]

Hi RosePetalBeauty, have you heard any more from Wonga or the FOS?

I received Wonga's final response to my complaint today. They do not uphold my complaint and reiterate that their forbearance programme agreed with the FCA is for existing customers only.

They say they don't agree the loan was unaffordable and they carried out a credit check. Strange I think as that would have shown more than a dozen recent defaults on my file at that time.

I am now waiting for the FOS to be in touch.

[RosePetalBeauty]

Hi RosePetalBeauty, have you heard any more from Wonga or the FOS?

I received Wonga's final response to my complaint today. They do not uphold my complaint and reiterate that their forbearance programme agreed with the FCA is for existing customers only.

They say they don't agree the loan was unaffordable and they carried out a credit check. Strange I think as that would have shown more than a dozen recent defaults on my file at that time.

I am now waiting for the FOS to be in touch.

 

I've heard from neither.. surprise surprise! The 8 weeks has literally just ended for me, so I'm able to escalate it to the FOS now.

 

It is SO wrong how the forbearance programme only applies to 'existing customers' and by that I think they mean those who haven't been sold on. I actually logged on to the new Wonga website and I have a trust rating to be able to borrow over £400! It is beyond ridiculous.

[acid53]

Wonga's view of the world now seems to be that the world only began after their deal with the FCA and if they deny everything it means there was no irresponsible lending prior to that! If you take a look at the FOS website, there are plenty of decisions against Wonga for irresponsible lending. I wonder is it worthwhile someone explictly writing to FCA and asking the question?I guess if they acknowledge too easily some of the failings of the past then they could be out of business quite quickly - the arrangement with the FCA seems to be a means of trying to draw a line under the past in a way which will not cost them too much and mean they can stay in business

[ba85]

the arrangement with the FCA seems to be a means of trying to draw a line under the past in a way which will not cost them too much and mean they can stay in business

Exactly! They have so far got away with doing the bare minimum. My final response email from Wonga says "We are continuing to work with the FCA on this forbearance programme. We will continue to contact people directly if this changes. You do not need to do anything in the meantime."

In other words, they aren't going to do anything unless the FCA forces them to. It is completely wrong that the FCA agreement allowed them to exclude customers whose debt was sold on.

I specifically asked the FCA that question in October and was told "the current voluntary requirement (VREQ) agreement which requires Wonga to make significant changes to its business immediately only affects current customers as reflected in the press release; however, the FCA is still working with Wonga to identify whether any other consumers will need redress."

That aside, I believe Wonga were irresponsible in my case and did not carry out sufficient affordability checks and that's why I have gone to the FOS.