High-cost loans can cause misery for those who end up trapped in their cycle. Payday lenders and doorstep loan providers often leave people struggling to meet ends meet after massive interest payments due to loans that were not suitable.
Many of these lenders, such as Provident, do not undertake thorough affordability checks at the beginning on the process, or when relending. This means that many of the personal loans are mis-sold to people who are already struggling financially. This is particularly true for those who have taken out multiple loans, one after the other.
Who are Provident?
Provident provide cash loans from £100-£1,000, delivered to your door, known as Doorstep Loans. Provident is a trading name of Provident Personal Credit Limited which was incorporated in February 1917, and they are based in Bradford, England. They are part of the Provident Financial Group who also provide Credit Cards and Vehicle Finance.
The weekly repayments, like the cash loan, are collected weekly from your home.
Their loans have an extremely high interest rate. For example, on their website they state that a representative loan might be:
£260 loan over 26 weeks. 26 payments of £15.60 per week. Rate of interest 112% p.a. fixed. Representative 535.3% APR. Total amount payable £405.60.
Can I Claim Compensation for My Mis-sold Provident Loan?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has a certain set of criteria rules that govern lenders like Provident. The Government Watchdog are there to protect vulnerable borrowers and to ensure lenders are acting responsibly.
Lenders should not lend money if the loan means the borrower will struggle to pay day-to-day bills or needs to borrow more money to keep up with the repayments.
For example:
- Was the loan Provident granted to you unaffordable?
- Did the loan have excessive charges like high interest and charges?
- Did Provident suggest that the loan was unaffordable but still went ahead?
- Did Provident fail to ask about all your other existing debts?
If you answer yes to any of the above, you may have a Provident Loan Claim.
Provident may not have carried out all of the appropriate affordability checks. They also should have checked your credit record and come to a decision based on all of the facts.
If they did not, you may have been sold a loan that was unsuitable. If this is the case, you can potentially claim compensation, however ClaimExperts are no longer taking these claims on.
What Can I Claim Back from Provident?
If Provident has enabled you take one or more loans and has not carried out the proper due diligence, you could be eligible for compensation. If your claim is successful, you may be entitled to have the loan stopped and claim for:
- All the interest you have paid on the loans
- Loan fees and charges
- Interest on loan fees and charges
Being free from the Provident loan and debt, however, is often the most welcome news for many of those who are trapped in a debt spiral. In addition to this, you can ask for any negative information on your credit records to be removed.
Provident Complaints on the Rise
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) is a service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial products. Their latest quarterly statistics, published 25 August 2020, show that the number of complaints received about certain types of high cost credit, such as Doorstep Loans, is on the rise.
From April-June 2020, new complaints about this kind of home credit rose by an incredible 77% to 1,166.
Provident is one of the biggest lenders in this home credit market, also known as doorstep lending. They published their own results for the six months ending 30th June 2020 and it also was not good reading. They reported an increase in complaints during 2020 but, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not give us numbers.
How can Claim Experts help?
Unfortunately, our legal panel are no longer accepting Provident Loan Claims. We hope this guide has helped you in some way, and encourage you to take up your claim elsewhere.