Reclaim interest and charges from a Vanquis credit card
Vanquis built its business lending to people with thin or poor credit files, often at high interest with low starting limits that it then bumped up. Under the FCA's consumer credit rules (CONC 5.2A), a lender has to make a reasonable assessment that repayments are actually affordable before it lends, and again before significantly increasing your limit. If Vanquis skipped that, lent into obvious difficulty, or kept increasing your limit while you were only making minimum payments or missing them, that can be irresponsible lending. The good news: you don't need a claims company taking a cut. You send the complaint, and if it's upheld you keep 100% of the refund.
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Your rights
The FCA's CONC 5.2A rules require a lender to carry out a reasonable creditworthiness and affordability assessment before entering into the agreement and before each significant credit limit increase. CONC 6.7 also covers persistent debt: if over an 18-month period you have paid more in interest, fees, and charges than you have repaid off the balance, Vanquis must intervene, prompt you to pay more, and at the 36-month stage consider forbearance. This may include reducing, waiving, or cancelling interest, fees, or charges. During its investigation of a responsible lending complaint, Vanquis will suspend the credit card. Where lending was unaffordable, the remedy the Financial Ombudsman typically applies is a refund of all interest, fees, and charges from the point the lending became unaffordable, plus 8% simple interest per year on those amounts, and removal of any related negative markers from your credit file. Vanquis has 8 weeks to give a final response. If it rejects you or goes quiet, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge, normally within 6 months of their final response. The final response must inform you about this 6-month limit. The Ombudsman can usually consider a complaint only if it is referred within 6 months of the firm’s final response. It may not be able to help if the event complained about was more than 6 years ago, and you complain more than 3 years from when you knew, or should have known, you had cause to complain.
Step by step
- 1Pull your account history together. Ask Vanquis for a statement of account or make a Subject Access Request covering the whole life of the card so you can see your opening limit, every credit limit increase, and what you paid in interest, fees, and charges.
- 2Write your complaint to Vanquis. Use their online complaints form or send it by post to their Customer Care Team. State plainly that you believe the card or the limit increases were unaffordable, point to any missed payments, persistent minimum-only payments, or other debts at the time, and ask for a refund of interest and charges plus removal of adverse credit markers.
- 3Give them 8 weeks. Vanquis must send a final response within that window. Keep copies of everything and do not accept a quick low offer if it ignores limit increases or the 8% interest.
- 4If they reject it or miss the deadline, escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the date on their final response. The ombudsman can order the full refund and credit file correction at no cost to you.
What they'll say, and your comeback
“You passed our credit checks at the time, so the lending was affordable.”
Comeback, Passing an automated credit check is not the same as a reasonable affordability assessment under CONC 5.2A. The rule is about whether I could sustainably afford the repayments, not whether a score let me through. I am asking you to show what affordability checks you actually did.
“You kept up with your minimum payments, so there was no problem.”
Comeback, Making only minimum payments for years while interest piled up is a classic sign of persistent debt under CONC 6.7, not proof of affordability. The rules required you to intervene, and the fact I never reduced the balance shows the lending was not sustainable.
“This complaint is too old for us to look at.”
Comeback, Affordability complaints are not automatically time-barred. The relevant limits run from when I reasonably became aware I had cause to complain, and the Financial Ombudsman applies that test, not a flat cut-off. Please assess the merits.
What actually happens
In practice, many customers find Vanquis resolves their responsible lending complaints directly, often within the 8-week deadline. If upheld, this typically means a refund of all interest and charges paid from the point lending became unaffordable, plus 8% simple interest. Vanquis will suspend the credit card during its investigation. If Vanquis rejects the complaint or misses the deadline, the Financial Ombudsman Service provides a free escalation route. The Ombudsman can order the same remedies, including removal of negative credit markers. While there are time limits, such as referring to the FOS within 6 months of Vanquis's final response, and long-stop limits for older issues, many successful complaints still secure significant refunds years after the initial lending. The key is a clear complaint detailing unaffordability.
FAQ
Will complaining hurt my credit score or get my card closed?
Complaining does not itself damage your credit file. If anything, a successful complaint usually improves it, because Vanquis has to remove negative markers tied to the unaffordable lending. They could close the account, but that is separate from the refund you are owed.
Do I need to have missed payments to claim?
No. You can still have a valid complaint even if you never missed a payment, if the borrowing was only sustained by minimum payments, other credit, or it was clearly beyond your means when granted or increased.
Why should I complain directly instead of using a claims company?
Complaining directly to Vanquis is free. Claims management companies will take a percentage of any refund you receive. Vanquis also warns that these companies may not tell you that your card will be suspended during the investigation, which is a standard part of the process.
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Sources
A self-serve tool, not a law firm. General information, not legal advice. Last researched 2026-09-21.