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Good to know: We are a Claims Management Company (CMC). You do not need to use a CMC to make your complaint to your lender. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself for free.

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JD Williams Catalogue Claims: What You Need to Know

If you’ve had a credit account with JD Williams, you might be able to get money back for unfair lending. This article will explain what unfair lending is, how it affects JD Williams, and what you can do if you think you have a case. We’ll also look at the company’s other brands and how to make a claim.

Key Points About JD Williams Catalogue Claims

  • JD Williams has had complaints about unfair lending
  • Some complaints have been supported by the Financial Ombudsman Service
  • Customers might get money back for unfair lending
  • You can claim for the first credit given and later increases, where appropriate
  • JD Williams owns other well known brands (like Simply Be and Jacamo), these other brands might also have lent unfairly on certain occassions
  • You can complain yourself or use a claims management company (fees apply)
  • There’s no set deadline for making claims, unlike PPI which ended in August 2019

Table of Contents

Understanding Unfair Lending

Unfair lending happens when a company gives you credit without checking if you can pay it back. This can cause money problems for people who can’t keep up with payments. It’s a big deal that can affect your finances for a long time.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has rules about fair lending. Companies should:

  • Check how much money you make and spend
  • Look at your credit history
  • Make sure you can pay back without struggling
  • Think about your overall money situation
  • Consider what might happen if interest rates go up

If a lender doesn’t do these checks properly, they might be unfair lending. This can lead to people taking on debt they can’t handle, causing stress and long-term money problems.

Unfair lending concept
Credit card and calculator

JD Williams and Unfair Lending Claims

JD Williams, a popular UK catalogue company, has had complaints about unfair lending. The FOS has agreed with some of these complaints, finding that JD Williams didn’t always check properly if people could afford the credit. This has made people look more closely at how the company lends money.

For example, in one case, the FOS found that JD Williams unfairly increased a customer’s credit limit without checking if they could afford it. This led to the customer getting into debt they couldn’t manage. These cases show why it’s important for companies to lend responsibly and what can happen when they don’t.

Catalogue credit claims like these can result in money back for customers who were given credit they couldn’t afford. The money back can include a refund of interest and charges, and fixing any bad marks on credit reports related to the unfair lending.

JD Williams offers a ‘JD Williams Pay’ Credit Account with a 39.96% interest rate. This high interest rate can make money problems worse for customers who are given credit they can’t afford to pay back.

  • JD Williams has had complaints about unfair lending
  • The Financial Ombudsman Service has agreed with some of these complaints
  • Customers might get money back if they were given credit they couldn’t afford
  • You can claim for both the first credit given and later increases
  • The high interest rate on JD Williams credit accounts can make money problems worse

JD Williams Other Brands

JD Williams has several other brands, which could also be involved in unfair lending claims. These brands sell different things but are all part of the same company and might lend money in similar ways:

  • Simply Be – Sells plus-size clothes for women
  • Jacamo – Sells clothes for men, especially in bigger sizes
  • Fashion World – Sells all kinds of clothes and accessories
  • Ambrose Wilson – Sells clothes for older people and home stuff
  • Home Essentials – Sells things for your home

If you’ve had credit with any of these brands, you might be able to make a claim if the lending was unfair. It’s important to check your money history with each brand separately, as they might lend money in different ways.

Various credit cards

Making a Claim

If you think JD Williams or its other brands lent you money unfairly, you can make a claim. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Collect your account info and any proof of money problems. This could be bank statements, credit reports, and letters from JD Williams.
  2. Look at your credit history from when you had the JD Williams account to see if there were signs of money stress.
  3. Contact JD Williams customer service to complain. Explain clearly why you think the lending was unfair.
  4. Keep good records of all your talks with JD Williams about your complaint.
  5. If you’re not happy with their answer, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They’ll look at your claim independently.
  6. Be ready to give more information or proof if the FOS asks for it.

You can make a claim yourself, or use a claims management company to help you (fees apply).

Claims process icon

Conclusion

Unfair lending by catalogue companies like JD Williams has affected many customers, potentially causing big money problems. If you’ve struggled to pay back a JD Williams credit account or any of its other brands, you might be able to get money back. The high success rate of claims suggests that many customers have been affected by these practices.

Remember, you can make a claim yourself or get help from a claims management company. There are also free tools online that can help you with the process. The most important thing is to do something if you think you’ve been affected by unfair lending. By doing this, you might not only get money back but also help make sure companies lend money responsibly in the future.

Sample Financial Ombudsman Decisions:

  1. Case DRN-3274795 : Miss G complained that J D Williams irresponsibly provided her with an unaffordable catalogue shopping account. The FOS found that J D Williams failed to conduct proportionate checks to ensure that Miss G could sustainably afford the repayments. However, the FOS did not consider that Miss G lost out due to J D Williams’ actions in relation to her account [1].
  2. Case DRN-3259600 : Ms M complained that the credit had been unaffordable to her and J D Williams would have seen this if they had completed reasonable affordability checks. The FOS found that J D Williams acted unfairly in providing the initial credit limit and subsequent increases up to £350. The FOS also found that increasing the limit to £500 and beyond would have likely been unaffordable and unsustainable for Ms M [2].

The recurring themes in these decisions include:

  1. Inadequate Affordability Checks : The FOS has found that J D Williams did not complete reasonable and proportionate checks to satisfy itself that customers would be able to repay their catalogue credit accounts in a sustainable way [1][2].
  2. Unfair Lending : The FOS has upheld complaints where it was determined that J D Williams provided catalogue credit accounts to customers unfairly, providing credit that the customers were not in a position to afford [1][2].

These examples demonstrate that the FOS takes the issue of irresponsible lending seriously and will uphold complaints against catalogue credit account providers like J D Williams when they fail to lend responsibly and affordably.

 

Citations:

[1] https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-3274795.pdf

[2] https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-3259600.pdf

[3] https://debtcamel.co.uk/affordability-complaints-2-cards-lender/

[4] https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/comment-page-7/

 

 

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Our Unaffordable Lending Claims Process

We realise that claiming against your lender can seem daunting. We aim to make the claiming process as simple as possible. We specialise in affordability claims. Our experienced team will communicate with the lender (and where required, the Ombudsman service) on your behalf. We use bespoke technology to ensure efficient claims handling. Throughout the process, we inform you of claim progress using a “stage process”, so you can track your progress easily. Please remember though, that you do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your lender, and if your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself for free.

  • Step 1

    Pre complaint investigation and analysis

  • Step 2

    Formal unaffordable lending complaint made

  • Step 3

    Lender responds with a Final Response Letter

  • Step 4

    If appropriate resolution cannot be reached with the lender, referral to Financial Ombudsman Service.

Our Fees

Our success fee is due only if your lender makes a compensation payout, and is calculated on the amount of the compensation payout. We do not charge you for any part of a settlement that results in the lender reducing your outstanding balance – that is on the house!

The success fee amount is calculated using a band charging system. There are five charging bands. Each band has a maximum amount that we will charge.

Success Fee Charging Table

Band Compensation Payout Percentage rate the Success Fee is calculated on  (including VAT) Maximum Success Fee in band (including VAT)
1 £1 to £1,499 36% £504
2 £1,500 to £9,999 33.60% £3,000
3 £10,000 to £24,999 30% £6,000
4 £25,000 to £49,999 24% £,9000
5 £50,000 or more 18% £12,000

Below are examples of how this would work in practice.

Lower example Higher example
Band Compensation Payout Success Fee Compensation Payout Success Fee
1 £100  £36 £1,499  £504
2 £1,600 £537.60 £9,999  £3,000
3 £12,000  £3,600 £24,999  £6,000
4 £30,350  £7,284 £49,999  £9,000
5 £55,000  £9,900 £100,000  £12,000

If you want to see how much we would charge for a specific amount, please visit our online fee calculator at https://allegiant.co.uk/unaffordable-lending-claim-fees.

Please note that the examples in the tables are for illustration purposes only. They are not an estimate of the likely outcome or success fee.

Cancellation

You can cancel for free at any time within 14-days without giving any reason and without incurring any liability. You can communicate your cancellation by telephone, post, email or online.

You can cancel this agreement at any time after the 14-day cancellation period. However, if a complaint submitted by us is successful, the Success Fee will apply in the usual way.

You can cancel by post: Allegiant Finance Services Limited, Freepost RTYU–XUTZ–YKJC, 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE; (b) by email: helpdesk@allegiant-finance.co.uk; (c) by telephone: 0345 544 1563; or (d) online at https://allegiant.co.uk/compliance/cancellation.

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Claiming for Free Yourself

Good to know: We are a Claims Management Company (CMC). You do not need to use a CMC to make your complaint to your lender. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself for free.