A Martin Lewis fan has been able to reclaim £9,300 from 72 payday loan companies after following advice from the money-saving expert.
The reader, known only as Emma, says she had been in persistent debt for the last ten years but was able to transform her finances.
She was able to win back £9,300 from payday loan companies after challenging the affordability and suitability of her borrowing.
In total, Emma received money back from 61 of the 72 payday loan firms she borrowed from by either complaining to them directly or via the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Separately, the MoneySavingExpert reader has also been able to claim back £800 in compensation and refunds for credit card charges and overdraft fees.
Emma says advice from Martin also saw her contact all the catalogue and credit card companies she owed money to, and agreed interest-free payments and reduced payment plans to slash her debt.
The money makeover means she has gone from having over £20,000 worth of debt to being debt-free and having savings in less than a year.
Writing in to MSE, Emma said: "Following your reclaim payday loans tips, we challenged the affordability and suitability of my loans and we have won most of the complaints (61 out of 72 payday loans in total) either directly through the companies or via the Financial Ombudsman.
"Altogether, I've received interest repayments and compensation totalling over £9,300. I've also separately received compensation and refunds for credit card charges and overdraft fees totalling around £800."
How to reclaim money from payday loan companies
If you borrowed a payday loan that you couldn't afford to repay as the lender didn't check your finances properly, you could be entitled to money back.
Another way a payday loan could've been mis-sold is if the costs or the repayment timetable, as well as any fees attached, weren't clear.
Not being warned about the risk of late repayments and how much you'd end up paying back in total also constitute as unfair selling.
In terms of being treated fairly, lenders are expected to offer you help if you tell them you're struggling and they should offer you free forms of debt advice.
If you think you've been mis-sold, you will likely be refunded interest plus any fees and charges from the time you were treated unfairly.
To start a compensation claim, speak to the payday lender or check its website for the address of its complaints department.
It's best to do this in writing, as you can track a letter to make sure it has arrived and they've received your complaint.
If you're struggling, you can contact complaints website Resolver for free who will help you with your complaint.
Resolver will also help escalate your case too, in the event that you don't get a reply.
If you don't hear back from the lender after eight weeks or your complaint's rejected or you're not happy with the response, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.
This is a free service to use. You need to fill in the Ombudsman complaint form to start the proceedings.
If you feel you have been mis-sold, it's best to get your complain in as soon as possible as dozens of payday lenders have gone bust in recent years.
When a firm goes under, it means customers are at risk of getting significantly reduced payouts - or even finding it's too late to make a complaint.
