Latest news with #SaraWilliams
Scottish Sun
25-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Payday loan firm with thousands of customers plunges into administration – what it means for YOU and your repayments
Read on to find out how you can make a claim ALL ALOAN Payday loan firm with thousands of customers plunges into administration – what it means for YOU and your repayments Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A Payday loan company has entered administration, affecting thousands of customers. Fund Ourselves Limited entered administration on Monday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Payday lender Fund Ourselves Limited has gone bust Credit: PA:Press Association Borrowers are being urged to continue making payments as normal, otherwise they risk damaging their credit score or being hit with additional charges as a penalty for late or missed payments. If your credit score takes a hit it could stop you from borrowing money in the future, for example if you want to apply for a mortgage, loan or even a phone contract. Sara Williams, founder of advice website Debt Camel, explains: 'If you have taken out a loan with Fund Ourselves then you still legally owe that money, the fact they have gone bust doesn't change this. "If repaying this loan will cause you problems, talk to a debt adviser." Customers who are struggling to make repayments should speak to the lender about arranging a more affordable plan to pay back the debt. They can also get free and impartial help from MoneyHelper. Louise Brittain and Robert Young of Azets Holdings Limited have been appointed as joint administrators to wind down the firm. They will be writing to all known creditors shortly to explain what the administration means for them and how to make a claim. Fund Ourselves Limited offered high-cost short-term credit loans and a small peer-to-peer lending platform. It also offered crowdfunded loans that were used to finance high-cost short-term credit loans. The FCA took action against the company to restrict its assets and permissions to carry out regulatory activities. The regulator said: 'We are engaging with the firm and the Joint Administrators to seek to ensure the best outcomes for customers.' Customers and retail investors of the company are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The scheme protects consumers when financial firms go out of business. For example, if your bank or insurer goes bust and can't give you your money back, then in some cases the FSCS may be able to give you compensation of up to £85,000. But this does not apply to Fund Ourselves Limited customers, the FCA said. What to do if you can't pay back a Payday loan HERE'S what you should do if you can't pay back a loan that you've taken out, according to the Money Advice Service: Contact the Payday lender as soon as possible - By law, they must pause any repayments for a reasonable amount of time until you can come up with a plan with a debt adviser for how to make the repayments affordable. They may also freeze interest or suspend charges. Think about cancelling the recurring payment - But ONLY if you've spoken to the lender first. This may damage your credit score further but if you need the money to pay for things like food, rent or utility bills then you may have to look at stopping the payments. You should also get free debt advice before doing this. Refuse to roll your loan over - The lender may advise you to "roll over" your loan to the next month but this is bad idea. It means you'll have to pay even more in charges and interest so you actually end up owing more. Instead, you should look at agreeing an affordable repayment plan. Get help from a free debt adviser - If you don't know how to deal with a Payday lender or are struggling with how you're going to approach them you can get free help from the following charities: StepChange Debt Charity National Debtline Citizens Advice – England and Wales Citizens Advice – Scotland Citizens Advice – Northern Ireland Advice NI The joint administrators will give more details about how any complaints will be dealt with in the coming months. If you have any questions about a claim against Fund Ourselves Limited, or any questions or loans and investments then you should contact the joint administrators' customer support team. To do so email fundourselves@ or call 07858 969 574. If you can't get answers to your questions from the administrators then you may be able to speak to the Financial Ombudsman Service. To check if you can make a complaint visit Sara Williams explains that you may be able to get a refund in certain circumstances. She said: "If the loan was large or you have borrowed several times from Fund Ourselves, you may be owed a refund for 'unaffordable lending'. "You will be able to make a claim to the administrators.' The FCA has also warned all customers to stay alert to fraud. If you are unexpectedly contacted by someone claiming to be from Fund Ourselves Limited or Azets, end the call and contact them using the number above. Which other Payday lenders have gone bust? Fund Ourselves Limited is not the first Payday lender to call it a day. One of the UK's biggest short-term lender, Wonga, went bust in August 2018. Since then, Sunny has gone into administration, affecting 50,000 customers. The high-cost credit firm went bust in 2020, blaming the impact of the coronavirus and the continued clampdown on the Payday loan sector. Piggy Bank, 247MoneyBox, QuickQuid, WageDayAdvance and Juo Loans have also gone bust, throwing customers into financial uncertainty. Many of them buckled under an influx of compensation claims over irresponsible lending. Now that the company has gone bust, compensation claims are at risk. Customers who have already submitted a claim may only get back a portion of what they are owed because the company might not be able to afford to pay you in full. The unaffordable loans may also be removed from your credit record. Borrowers who think they were irresponsibly lent to but haven't made a claim yet should do so. This is because when a company fails, your compensation claim will be added to the back of a long queue of people the business owes money to. Big investors and lenders will usually be paid first, which could mean the pot of money left for customers is much smaller. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
The Sun
25-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Payday loan firm with thousands of customers plunges into administration – what it means for YOU and your repayments
A Payday loan company has entered administration, affecting thousands of customers. Fund Ourselves Limited entered administration on Monday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. Borrowers are being urged to continue making payments as normal, otherwise they risk damaging their credit score or being hit with additional charges as a penalty for late or missed payments. If your credit score takes a hit it could stop you from borrowing money in the future, for example if you want to apply for a mortgage, loan or even a phone contract. Sara Williams, founder of advice website Debt Camel, explains: 'If you have taken out a loan with Fund Ourselves then you still legally owe that money, the fact they have gone bust doesn't change this. "If repaying this loan will cause you problems, talk to a debt adviser." Customers who are struggling to make repayments should speak to the lender about arranging a more affordable plan to pay back the debt. They can also get free and impartial help from MoneyHelper. Louise Brittain and Robert Young of Azets Holdings Limited have been appointed as joint administrators to wind down the firm. They will be writing to all known creditors shortly to explain what the administration means for them and how to make a claim. Fund Ourselves Limited offered high-cost short-term credit loans and a small peer-to-peer lending platform. It also offered crowdfunded loans that were used to finance high-cost short-term credit loans. The FCA took action against the company to restrict its assets and permissions to carry out regulatory activities. The regulator said: 'We are engaging with the firm and the Joint Administrators to seek to ensure the best outcomes for customers.' Customers and retail investors of the company are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The scheme protects consumers when financial firms go out of business. For example, if your bank or insurer goes bust and can't give you your money back, then in some cases the FSCS may be able to give you compensation of up to £85,000. But this does not apply to Fund Ourselves Limited customers, the FCA said. What to do if you can't pay back a Payday loan HERE'S what you should do if you can't pay back a loan that you've taken out, according to the Money Advice Service: Contact the Payday lender as soon as possible - By law, they must pause any repayments for a reasonable amount of time until you can come up with a plan with a debt adviser for how to make the repayments affordable. They may also freeze interest or suspend charges. Think about cancelling the recurring payment - But ONLY if you've spoken to the lender first. This may damage your credit score further but if you need the money to pay for things like food, rent or utility bills then you may have to look at stopping the payments. You should also get free debt advice before doing this. Refuse to roll your loan over - The lender may advise you to "roll over" your loan to the next month but this is bad idea. It means you'll have to pay even more in charges and interest so you actually end up owing more. Instead, you should look at agreeing an affordable repayment plan. Get help from a free debt adviser - If you don't know how to deal with a Payday lender or are struggling with how you're going to approach them you can get free help from the following charities: The joint administrators will give more details about how any complaints will be dealt with in the coming months. If you have any questions about a claim against Fund Ourselves Limited, or any questions or loans and investments then you should contact the joint administrators' customer support team. To do so email fundourselves@ or call 07858 969 574. If you can't get answers to your questions from the administrators then you may be able to speak to the Financial Ombudsman Service. To check if you can make a complaint visit Sara Williams explains that you may be able to get a refund in certain circumstances. She said: "If the loan was large or you have borrowed several times from Fund Ourselves, you may be owed a refund for 'unaffordable lending'. "You will be able to make a claim to the administrators.' The FCA has also warned all customers to stay alert to fraud. If you are unexpectedly contacted by someone claiming to be from Fund Ourselves Limited or Azets, end the call and contact them using the number above. Which other Payday lenders have gone bust? Fund Ourselves Limited is not the first Payday lender to call it a day. One of the UK's biggest short-term lender, Wonga, went bust in August 2018. Since then, Sunny has gone into administration, affecting 50,000 customers. The high-cost credit firm went bust in 2020, blaming the impact of the coronavirus and the continued clampdown on the Payday loan sector. Piggy Bank, 247MoneyBox, QuickQuid, WageDayAdvance and Juo Loans have also gone bust, throwing customers into financial uncertainty. Many of them buckled under an influx of compensation claims over irresponsible lending. Now that the company has gone bust, compensation claims are at risk. Customers who have already submitted a claim may only get back a portion of what they are owed because the company might not be able to afford to pay you in full. The unaffordable loans may also be removed from your credit record. Borrowers who think they were irresponsibly lent to but haven't made a claim yet should do so. This is because when a company fails, your compensation claim will be added to the back of a long queue of people the business owes money to. Big investors and lenders will usually be paid first, which could mean the pot of money left for customers is much smaller.
Scottish Sun
12-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Major borrowing weapon AXES £14.99 a month fee so you can check your credit score and file for FREE
Plus, we've explained how to boost your score to borrow cheaply HELPING HAND Major borrowing weapon AXES £14.99 a month fee so you can check your credit score and file for FREE Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR borrowing weapon has axed a £14.99 month fee, allowing users to check their credit score and file for free. Millions of Brits can now view their full Experian credit report via the company's app at no cost, The Sun can reveal. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 If you want daily updates, Experian still offers paid options Credit: Alamy Credit scores and reports are important when borrowing money. In the UK, there are three main agencies that track your credit history: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They collect information from banks, utility companies, and other sources to create a record of how you borrow and repay money. Lenders, like banks or mobile providers, use this information to decide if they'll approve your application for things like loans, mortgages, or credit cards, and what interest rates they'll offer you. While all credit agencies offer a free basic "statutory" credit report, these don't include your credit score and are mainly useful for spotting mistakes or checking for changes. Experian's new free report is much more useful. It includes your credit score, payment history, how much credit you're using, and any public records about you. It's updated every 30 days and completely free. Debt expert Sara Williams said: "Experian's free app is now an easy way to check your score and get a detailed report. "Before this update, there was no free way to access your Experian report, so this is very useful." Millions Face 15% Paycheck Reduction Over Student Loan Defaults: What You Need to Know If you want daily updates, Experian still offers paid options. You can subscribe to Experian Identity Plus for £10.99 a month to get a daily credit score or Experian CreditExpert for £14.99 a month to get a daily-updated credit report. However, Sara said that it's a good idea to check all three CRA reports, especially before applying for major financial products like mortgages. That's because not all lenders report to every CRA, so your credit report can vary between agencies. For example, small lenders or utility companies might only share data with one or two CRAs. This means your credit file with Experian could look very different from your file with Equifax or TransUnion. Monitoring your credit is vital because lenders conduct "hard" checks when you apply for loans or credit cards. These checks can temporarily lower your score, and if you're rejected, you may have to wait six months before applying elsewhere. Check your credit score and file for free THERE are now plenty of ways to check your credit score for free. Here are the best options: Experian : Download the Experian app to see your credit score and full report for free. : Download the Experian app to see your credit score and full report for free. Equifax : Use ClearScore for free access to your Equifax file. : Use ClearScore for free access to your Equifax file. TransUnion: Check your score and report for free through Credit Karma or MoneySavingExpert's Credit Club. How can I boost my credit score? A robust credit score is a golden ticket to better deals. Andrew Hagger, founder of Moneycomms, said the most important move is to register to vote. This is because lenders need to check your identity and address to confirm you're not a fraudster. For Experian, being on the electoral register can yield you 50 points. Also, don't make too many credit applications as this can be a sign of financial distress. And if you already have a credit card or loan, never miss a payment. Kara Gammell, financial expert at MoneySupermarket, said: "A missed payment can negatively affect your rating." Renters who want to boost their credit score can also report their rent payments to three of the major credit reference agencies to prove they can pay their bills on time. How a poor score means you'll borrow more A POOR credit score can also cost you more. For example: On a £3,000 loan, someone with bad credit might pay £2,499 more in interest over three years compared to a borrower with excellent credit, according to TotallyMoney. Mortgage rates for those with poor credit can be 1-2% higher, adding thousands to yearly repayments. A £250,000 mortgage could cost an extra £3,567 a year for borrowers with poor scores. CreditLadder introduced rent reporting to the UK for all tenants in 2017. Two out of five households rent, and CreditLadder can report those rent payments to all the main credit reference agencies, which can help you improve your credit history and score. It is free to report your rent payments to one credit agency. Other services, like Loqbox, can help boost your score by up to 200 points within 12 months. It works by lending you a minimum of £240. This money stays locked away in your Loqbox account. Over the year, you pay £20 a month into your Loqbox account to pay back the loan. Each month, Loqbox reports to the credit agencies that you've made your repayments, which increases your credit score. After 12 months, the loan is paid off and you can withdraw the £240 you saved back into your bank account. Meanwhile, you should not overuse overdrafts or withdraw cash on credit cards, and never take out a payday loan.
