Collapsed payday loan company Wonga isn’t paying customers what they’re owed

Are you affected by the Wonga collapse? (Photo: Shutterstock)Are you affected by the Wonga collapse? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Are you affected by the Wonga collapse? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Payday loan firm Wonga, which collapsed into administration in August 2018, is still causing problems for consumers who were mis-sold loans.

This is what you need to know about trying to get your money back if you were affected.

400,000 people to only receive a fraction of compensation

Wonga is facing huge amounts of criticism after informing around 400,000 claimants that they will receive just 4.3 per cent of the compensation that they are owed.

People have taken to social media platform Twitter to express their outrage.

One user wrote, “Just had an email regarding the #Wonga #refund - 4.3p in the pound from an 11k claim! Utterly disgusting to say the least.”

Another tweeted, “What an absolute joke Wonga being told I was due a refund of £1,200 I now have an email telling me I’ll get £7.11!! It’s an insult!! And I have to wait four weeks having been told compensation would be paid by 30th January!!”

“The administrators can pay themselves £3m and we get 4.3% of our claim. Can’t they accept 4.3% of their fees? Before you @ me, I know it’s how administration works but f*****g hell, what a load of s**** #wonga,” wrote another.

What you can do

The window to complain about a payday loan taken out with Wonga closed on 30 September 2019. However, you can always try emailing [email protected] or calling on 0207 138 8330 if you missed that deadline.

If you managed to get your complaint in on time, administrator Grant Thornton says that whether you’re owed money will be assessed by examining your Wonga loan history.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) guidelines will be followed whilst making its assessment, according to the firm.

If your claim is unsuccessful, you can take it further within Grant Thornton’s complaint department, but you cannot complain to the FOS.

How much will I be repaid?

Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that you’ll be paid your claim amount in full.

On the administration website, Grant Thornton explains that, even if your complaint is valid, is it “very unlikely” that you’ll be paid the full value of your claim.

Wonga says, “You will only receive a percentage of the accepted claim value. However, the Joint Administrators have worked to maximise monies available to pay to unsecured creditors.”

Money Saving Expert explains, “Customers of payday lenders are at the back of the queue of people owned, being counted as ‘unsecured creditors’. This means they’re unlikely to see all the money they’re due and could be waiting months.”

Unfortunately, payday lenders are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which would be the safety net for consumers when a finance firm fails.