Payday lender ordered to refund thousands of customers £350 each: Will you get money back?
Almost 100,000 customers will get back cash or have their outstanding debts cancelled
THOUSANDS of people could get cash back or have their outstanding debts cancelled after a payday lender treated them unfairly.
If you were one of 97,000 who took out a payday or guarantor loan with Payday First, Flexible First, Money Resolve, Paycfo, Payday Advance and Payday Credit – which are all run by CFO Lending – then you may be in line for a payout.
The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates banks and lenders, has ordered CFO Lending to pay back the cash – £34million in total – because it found it was doing a number of things wrong.
This included allowing customers to overpay on loans, taking payments without permission, sending threatening texts and emails to customers.
We discovered that CFO lending was treating its customers unfairly and we made sure that they immediately stopped their unfair practices,” said Jonathan Davidson from the Financial Conduct Authority.
“Since then we have worked closely with CFO Lending, and are now satisfied with their progress and the way that they have addressed their previous mistakes.”
How much cash will you get back?
In total the FCA has ordered CFO Lending to payback £34million. If you divide that by 97,000 it equals £350.
However, it’s not that simple. The amount that you will get back depends on how much your loan was for and what charges and overpayments were incorrectly paid.
The FCA estimates that on average, per customer £110 in cash will be paid back for overpayments and charges and £310 will be wiped off existing debt.
Not all customers will get both a cash refund and debt cancellation.
IF YOUR WORRIED ABOUT DEBT
If you’re worried about debt, paying your bills or money then you should get free advice from a charity like Citizens Advice, Stepchange, National Debt Line or Money Advice Service.
How do you claim the cash?
You don’t. CFO Lending has six months to contact customers to inform them that they will be getting back cash or their debts will be reduced.
If you believe you are affected and you do not hear from CFO Lending by March 2017 then you can contact them on 0203 583 6303.
You should not use a Claims Management Company to get back your cash as they will charge an upfront fee or take a slice of your compensation.
If you had a loan you’ll still need to pay it back
The firm has not been allowed to offer loans to new customers since May 2014.
However, if you have an outstanding debt then you’ll need to repay what you owe.
It may adjust your outstanding balance to remove any interest or charges it wrongly charged you.
No further fees or interest will be added to your balance and you can contact CFO Lending to arrange a repayment plan, on 0208 045 1382 or collections@cfolending.com. More information can be found on the .
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