in this section

useful link

help for businesses and consumer advice agencies

interview with lead ombudsman, Jane Hingston:

complaints-handling and consumer-credit businesses

useful external link

the rules we follow (in FSA's handbook)

online consumer credit resource

This section of our website includes a collection of online documents, reference materials and links – giving more background to our work handling consumer credit complaints (which we have covered since April 2007).

This section may be of particular interest to:

advice workers (such as debt and money advisers) and
businesses with a standard consumer-credit licence (automatically covered by law by the ombudsman).

our quick guides to ...

the ombudsman and smaller businesses

this brief guide is aimed at businesses we cover – including those with a consumer-credit licence – that don't generally have much contact with us, because they only rarely receive complaints

our role in settling consumer-credit disputes

a brief guide to our role – from April 2007 – in settling consumer-credit disputes

consumer credit complaints – case studies

in issue 68 of ombudsman news we published an update on disputes involving consumer-credit businesses – a year after they came under the ombudsman service for the first time
in issue 75 of ombudsman news we published some more case studies – about debt collection, debt management, point-of-sale loans and financial hardship
in issue 81 of ombudsman news we published a selection of case studies involving complaints about debt-collecting businesses.
in issue 86 of ombudsman news we published a selection of case studies covering common misunderstandings about claims made under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act

our technical notes on ...

debt collecting

this note covers complaints where a third-party debt-collection agency (ie one that is separate and distinct from the original lender) has been employed to recover a debt

goods and services bought with credit
(including section 75 and 75A)

this note covers complaints where consumer protection laws make the provider of credit liable in certain circumstances for some problems with goods or services obtained using credit

financial hardship and unaffordable lending

explaining how we approach complaints involving financial hardship and unaffordable lending related to consumer debt (for example, current account overdrafts, credit card debts, loans and hire purchase)

consumer-credit businesses – update from the ombudsman

at the Finance and Leasing Association's annual conference, Natalie Ceeney, our chief ombudsman, talked about consumer credit complaints and the role of the ombudsman
in issue 82 of ombudsman news (December 2009/January 2010), Jane Hingston, lead ombudsman for banking and credit, discusses key complaints-handling issues for businesses with a consumer-credit licence
in issue 60 of ombudsman news (March/April 2007) – following the widening of our remit to include consumer credit businesses – we set out the types of consumer-credit complaints we can consider, the preparations we made in advance of our new remit, and the resources available for businesses

information for businesses covered by the ombudsman service

quick and easy access to the most frequently-asked questions (FAQs) from small businesses – about all aspects of our process and procedures

the official complaints-handling rules for consumer-credit businesses

This is part of our online technical resource which sets out our general approach to complaints about a wide range of financial products and issues. We would like your feedback on how helpful you found it. Please also use the feedback form below to tell us about anything you think we could clarify or explain better.