THOUSANDS of clients who have taken out payday loans and borrowed money through the home loan have had their debts written off.
Anyone with an outstanding loan from Provident or Satsuma will no longer need to repay what they owe.
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Provident announced earlier this year that it was closing its doors after nearly 150 years in business.
The company’s online payday loan business, Satsuma, was also shut down.
It hasn’t taken on any new clients since then, but anyone with an existing loan still had to make repayments.
Now, Provident and Satsuma clients with outstanding loans have been informed that they will no longer have to repay the money they owe.
The two companies will close permanently by the end of the year and the outstanding balances will be reduced to zero.
A spokesperson for Provident said: “Provident Financial Group has informed mortgage and Satsuma customers that as of December 15, it has stopped receiving their payments and all outstanding customer loans are now written off.
“Customer credit reports are also updated to show a zero balance. PFG’s consumer credit division will close as planned on December 31, 2021. “
It is understood that tens of thousands of borrowers are affected by the cancellation of the loan.
They will see their loan marked as paid or partially paid on their credit report and will not have to do anything.
No refunds will be made after December 31st and anyone who makes one after this date will be refunded the money.
If your money has been transferred to a debt collector acting on behalf of Provident or Satsuma, the loan is written off.
But if your loan was sold to another company because you fell behind, you still owe the money and MUST keep paying back.
Sara Williams from DebtCamel Debt Advice Site, said: “This write-off is a nice Christmas surprise for people with Provident and Satsuma loans who were struggling to repay them.”
But customers whose debt has been forgiven should also make a claim if they believe they have been mis-sold for a loan from Provident or Satsuma.
She said: “Anyone who has had this write off should now think about making a claim with the provident fund.
“Collecting the balance may have been your top priority, but if your request is upheld, any negative marks on your credit report for unaffordable Provident and Satsuma loans will be removed.
“It may be worth more to you than getting the money back.”
Cash back for poorly sold loans
About 4 million customers could be owed in cash if they were mis-sold on a loan.
This goes for those who still had an outstanding loan that has now been canceled and those who have already paid it off – even many years ago.
Anyone who borrowed from Provident or Satsuma between April 6, 2007 and December 17, 2020 may be eligible.
They must claim the money, however, and have until the end of February next year to apply.
Customers who took out loans from Greenwood or Glo, which were also managed by Provident, could also be liable for cash.
To be reimbursed, your loan must be deemed “unaffordable” and the majority of complaints about Provident have been upheld due to a lack of proper affordability checks.
A loan is only affordable if you can make the repayments while still being able to pay all of your regular bills and living expenses.
On the other hand, if your loan repayments forced you to go into more debt or default on payments, it was probably unaffordable.
How much you get back will depend on how much you borrowed and for how long, as well as how many other people are asking for a repayment, as there is a set amount of money to give.
The money will be released after the repayment program closes on February 28, 2022.
You can read more about how to claim a Provident or Satsuma loan if you think you’ve been mis-sold in our guide.
You could be owed thousands of pounds sterling from other vendors who have mis-sold loans and other financial products.
Half a million Sunny payday loan customers had their credit reports wiped out last year because of poorly sold loans.
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